How to Do Things with Rabbits: Generative Speech-Acts and Illocutionary Force in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men , George and Lennie's repeatedly recounted dream of rabbits, land, and companionship drives the two men as they navigate their lonely working migrancy. Their recounting ritual emerges as an event within the novella, raising questions about the effects of nursing a private dream versus keeping a regular practice of speaking it. The rabbit dream finds powerful activation when understood as a performative speech-act which releases illocutionary force to construct new realities. These conditions include the identity built within George and Lennie at the time of speaking; the binding closeness the dream creates between them, which empowers other workers as well and defends them against external threats; and the preservation of Lennie's identity in the final scene, even as the dream collapses.